


Santa Tell Me

by miltonicsimile



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Alternate Universe - Office, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Christmas Presents, Drinking, Kissing, M/M, MinWon - Freeform, Sitting in santa's lap (wonu is santa lol), boss! Wonwoo, intern! Mingyu, meanie, mg this entire fic: blushing, yuta is in this fic bc yuta sexy thats it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21774340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miltonicsimile/pseuds/miltonicsimile
Summary: Interning at the fashion magazine of his dreams, Mingyu's day to day tasks are, unfortunately, not that glamorous. Things change at the annual Christmas party when he gets to sit on Santa's lap and is given a special present.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu
Comments: 9
Kudos: 245





	Santa Tell Me

**Author's Note:**

> hello look i wrote something for once in my life
> 
> when will svt do a studio cover of santa tell me....we all know they love that song lol
> 
> lol but in this fic wonu is the boss and mingyu is the intern and like as an "adult" let me tell you not to date your boss that's really messed up on a bunch of levels lol and i tried to like...slip that into the ending bc we dont like power imbalances in this house
> 
> good luck on exams/whatever and happy holidays etc whatever is politically correct and butters your crumpet
> 
> ignore any errors i'll edit....after my exams....hopefully........

Mingyu wandered into the breakroom, ducking his head to avoid hitting the artificially frosted evergreen garland that hung above the doorway.

He, of course, had been the one who had put it up on the first of December. Which had taken the whole day under Minghao’s intense scrutiny. Minghao had a vision of a winter wonderland of the deepest forest greens, the snowiest whites, and the purest golds. And unfortunately, Mingyu as the office intern had been the one forced to bring it to life. He had even hung mistletoe in a corner of the lobby, which had begun to cause snickers and create salacious stories among his coworkers.

“Hey,” he began, breathing in the calamity that was the mint-caramel-coffee smell of the breakroom. “Can anyone tell me why we just got a delivery of two cases of wine and a pine-scented life-size cutout of Nakamoto Yuta?”

“The wine is for the Christmas party on Friday,” Seungkwan, the magazine’s primary interviewer and PR personnel said. He took a sip of his iced Americano, despite it being the middle of winter. Leaning against the dark hardwood countertop Seungkwan glanced at his coworkers. “I presume the festive smelling cardboard copy of our top model is a gift?”

Soonyoung the company/office team leader snorted from atop the kitchenette counter.

Honestly, Mingyu still wasn’t sure what Soonyoung’s job actually was besides being enthusiastic and making them feel good. Last week he had given everyone a candle to “keep up office morale”.

Mingyu’s had been earl grey and lemon-scented. It was delightful.

Soonyoung was also technically second in command at the company. And yet, he sat on the countertop next to Seungkwan, as if at a frat party and not the office of one of the largest fashion magazines in Asia.

“Yes,” Soonyoung nodded into his own coffee, “it is a gift, that would be correct.”

"It cost extra to have it pine-scented, but I personally think it will be worth it,” Seokmin commented from the leather sofa across the room. He was one of the editors for the magazine. On the wall above him, shining bulbs hung from a silver ribbon in the shape of a tree. It had taken Mingyu an entire afternoon to put up. “But I will have to smell it myself to see if the desired effect really comes through.”

Mingyu wished he was surprised. By any of it. Three months into his internship he had grown used to a certain level of…ridiculousness within the office. At this point, he was pretty sure that their office was not considered  _ typical _ .

“Okay, you take care of your weird Yuta cutout. Where should I put the wine? I forgot that the party was already this Friday. Does the office do a secret Santa thing?”

The office Christmas party was an annual affair that to Mingyu’s understanding, provided an excuse to dress up and get drunk. Everyone from the office to photographers, models, make artists, and all sorts of agents were apparently invited.

Mingyu, as the office intern was surely going to be doing the brunt of the labour setting up and cleaning up after the party. And as much as he was excited to be meeting so many professionals within the field, he knew the cleanup was not going to be fun. But if he got to meet someone as famous as Nakamoto Yuta it would be worth it. At least, that's what he was going to be telling himself until Friday.

“No, the boss just gives everyone a present. He has the money,” Seungkwan answered. “And about the wine…better go ask the boss himself.” Seungkwan said with a teasing saccharine smile.  _ Scheming _ . “Wonwoo will know what to do with it.

Mingyu froze.

“Yeah, you can’t trust anyone in this office by just leaving it around. You know if you put it in the fridge for the week it would be gone by Wednesday.” Seokmin nodded, swatting lazily at one of the low hanging bulbs.

“Please don’t do that! I don’t want to have to put it back up.”

“Let me tell you what ‘Gyu, I’ll take the pine-scented Christmas Yuta cutout into my office, and you go talk to the boss. He'll tell you what to do with the wine.” Soonyoung said, wrapping an arm around Mingyu.

"I wouldn’t want to bother him-”

“No, no, you wouldn’t. Don’t worry, I’m sure Wonwoo would be glad to hear from you!” Soonyoung said cheerfully, leading them into the hallway. “You are always running off when he comes around, aren’t you?”

Mingyu had hoped no one had noticed. But it wasn’t surprising that between Soonyoung, Seokmin,  _ and _ Seungkwan they had picked up on it. They saw everything. Like Santa Claus, they saw you when you were sleeping and knew when you were awake… Mingyu wondered if they could smell fear.

“Still, I’m sure I can just go and ask Seungcheol.” Mingyu protested. “He usually knows about stuff-”

“No, I think about something like this it would be only appropriate to ask the boss,” Soonyoung said, leading them in the direction of their boss’ office. “Oh, don’t look like that, ‘Gyu. He doesn’t bite. The boss has been my best friend since we were kids. Trust me, he may look kind of scary but he’s a big ole’ softie, okay?”

Soonyoung pushed Mingyu in front of their boss’ office door with surprising strength. It was also decorated with an evergreen garland around the doorframe and a golden bell hanging at the centre. It really was pretty, Minghao’s creative vision had not been short of an elegant Christmas wonder.

“Okay, you got this,” Soonyoung said with a smirk. “Ready?”

Mingyu shook his head. It smelled less like festively flavoured coffee here. A more natural, woodsy smell. Surely a scented candle was lit somewhere. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Awesome.” With a grin, Soonyoung knocked firmly on the door and then bolted down the hall.

“Soonyoung you can’t just! Leave me!” Mingyu stared in horror, but the older boy had already turned the corner and was out of sight.

Mingyu was alone. In front of his handsome boss’ office door.

He waited.

And no one responded.

“Are you looking for Mr. Jeon?”

Mingyu jumped and turned around.

“He’s out for lunch,” Nayoung said, narrowing her eyes. She headed the company’s online platform and had a fashion forecasting podcast that Mingyu was desperate to guest on. She had told him to get some qualifications beyond a pretty face first. “What do you need him for?”

Mingyu flushed. “Uh, I just need to ask him something. About the Christmas party. On Friday.”

“Yeah, I know when the party is.” Nayoung shook her head, uninterested. “Just send him an email. He’ll get back to like, immediately.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Nayoung was already walking away, leaving Mingyu alone in front of their boss’ office door. It was a bit of a relief, that he wouldn’t have to talk to the boss. That would surely have been disastrous.

With a sigh of relief, Mingyu headed back to the breakroom to send the email. Maybe he could endure some more of Seungkwan’s teasing in exchange for a coffee or a latte.

+

The thing was, Mingyu loved fashion. He loved the creativity and artistry, the visual storytelling aspect. He loved it when people used it to push boundaries, to truly be free in their expression.

This is why as a teenager he had fallen in love with the magazine and company, the standout amongst the fashion industry for breaking down walls and being inventive. It was a risky business move, dangerous in a market that seemed so set in its ways. But it had succeeded. The magazine had become one of the most renowned and respected within the impossible to break into the world that was haute couture.

And it was also why teenage Kim Mingyu had fawned over the icon that was _ Jeon Wonwoo _ , the creator of the magazine. Wonwoo had inspired him to pursue a life in the same industry, had been an emblem of innovation and success.

When his friend Junhui had told him, he could get him an internship at the magazine Mingyu had been over the moon. It was his  _ dream _ to work for the magazine, Jeon Wonwoo’s magazine and company. It would kickstart him into the fashion industry and look great on a resume.

But in reality, it just seemed like he was being lightly tormented while  _ Santa Baby _ played in the background.

“Mingyu, I need you to tell me if I look  _ wack _ ,” Soonyoung said earnestly. They were in his office, a small room splattered in iconic covers of the magazine and pictures of him and their boss as kids. Mingyu sneaked a look at them every time he was in here.

Soonyoung was in an exceptionally well fitted black suit, the jacket of which had ruby-coloured thread work and a bowtie of the same shade. And a Santa hat on his ashy blond hair.

“Wack?”

“Do I look good or not?”

Mingyu thought Soonyoung looked good, but the outfit was playing it safe considering they did work at a fashion magazine known to push the limits and boundaries. But he supposed this was a Christmas party and not the Capitol in the Hunger Games. “Yes, you look good. Handsome.”

Soonyoung grinned wolfishly. “Good. Okay, now as more people arrive you need to be friendly and make as many introductions as necessary. As the office intern you’re familiar with most people we work with from different parts of the company and stages of production. If you end up in conversation with a model and a director who have never met, you must be the bridge. Make everyone comfortable. You’re tall and handsome so people will automatically like you, so don’t ruin it but saying something stupid.”

Mingyu frowned.  _ Look who’s talking _ . “Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“In all seriousness though, there will be a lot of people here tonight. Just have fun, yeah?”

“Will do,” Mingyu nodded, following him out of the office towards the open reception area where the party was being held.

He genuinely was excited for the party finally after organizing the whole thing. He had put up the decorations, ordered the food and finally put out all the wine (Wonwoo emailed him back instructing him to lock it in a storage room). He wanted to meet all the people the company worked with. Many of them were famous and he needed both Instagram clout and connections within the industry, which was part of the perks working here.

“Oh, look!” Soonyoung gasped, grabbing Mingyu’s arm with alarming strength. “Yuta is here! And his wife! Let’s go talk to them.”

Mingyu let himself be pulled across the room. It was slowly filling with more people, most of which he was pleased to see he recognized. And of course, they were all dressed stunningly. That was his favourite part of working here. Everyone always dressed like it mattered, they understood clothes made a statement and sent messages.

“Is your weird gift for him nearby?” Mingyu asked, glancing around the impeccably decorated room. He had almost forgotten about the cutout that had been delivered if not for the fact every time he walked by Seokmin’s office he got hit by a wave of pine-scent. And according to Seokmin, it  _ did _ have the intended effect.

Soonyoung scoffed. “It’s not for him, it’s for his  _ wife _ !”

“Of course, it is,” Mingyu sighed, grabbing two glasses of white wine from a passing server and handing one to Soonyoung. He hadn’t even known Yuta was married. “What on earth had I been thinking?”

Nakamoto Yuta was one of the magazine’s regular models, which was saying something considering his popularity, his shoots booked months in advance. He was a handsome Japanese man, with a unique enough face to make him instantly recognizable and hotly desired to work with within the industry.

“Yuta! I’m glad you could make it!” Soonyoung greeted cheerily as they approached. “This is Kim Mingyu, our office intern. Isn’t he cute?”

Mingyu flushed. He had never been good with compliments, something that as soon as the others in the office had figured out, had begun to instantly exploit to their advantage. They called him adorable and handsome and  _ precious _ , all at the most inconvenient of times too. They hooted in laughter when his face turned rosy and his ears an alarming shade of scarlet, much to Mingyu’s annoyance.

Yuta was even more handsome in person with a striking smile and his wife was surprisingly a tiny foreign blue-eyed woman who looked somewhat threatening. A beautiful couple. They also kind of looked like they practiced sword fighting together, but that might’ve just been Mingyu’s imagination running wild as he took in the black ink of the woman’s tattoos.

“I have a gift for you!” Soonyoung said excitedly. “It’s in Seokmin's office, come follow me.”

Yuta lifted a brow, intrigued. “Oh?”

At that moment Seungkwan tapped his arm and whispered, “Mingyu, can I steal you for a moment?”

“Yes, oh my god.” Mingyu was grateful for an escape. He didn’t want to be associated with Soonyoung’s weird gift scheme.

Seungkwan smiled, tilting his head to his left. “Follow me.”

The room was filled with more people now, and despite Mariah Carey singing in the background, it seemed like the party was coming together. A success.

He followed Seungkwan through the crowd until he stopped next to a group of people already in conversation. He was confused. Why did Seungkwan bring him here?

“Everyone!” Seungkwan smiled, “this is Kim Mingyu!”

Mingyu’s smile faltered. This was too familiar.

“Are you a model that works with the company?” A woman he didn’t recognize asked him. She was in her forties with quick eyes taking him in. Assessing. He had gotten used to this within the industry.

“Mingyu is the office intern, actually,” a low baritone supplied. Jeon Wonwoo, twenty-six and CEO and founder of the magazine smiled from across the cluster of people. He looked as sharp as ever in a dapper navy-pinstripe suit and strikingly handsome. He wore his signature round glasses that made Mingyu’s stomach twist. “Quite the hard worker too. You have him to thank for organizing this party. I know I couldn’t have managed it.”

Mingyu was grateful to have on BB cream to hide some of the colour that was surely rising to his face. It wouldn’t be enough. His instant blushing was a curse. And he cursed Seungkwan for dragging here purposely. He should’ve known better.

“But such a face!” The woman said, “and tall! Have you done some modelling?”

“Yes, a bit. Nothing serious.” Mingyu admitted. “I am just as interested in the production and manufacturing that goes on behind the scenes as being the one on camera.”

“He was an eye for fashion, always able to pick out pieces that are both timeless and a statement.” Seungkwan supplied. “He’s a great help around the office, despite being a bit clumsy.”

Mingyu shot him a look.

“Well, I have the shoot for my spring collection in the new year here. Would you be interested in modelling? That is if it’s okay with you, Wonwoo?”

“Fine by me. He certainly is attractive enough,” Wonwoo nodded, lifting a glass of wine. “What do you think, Mingyu?

Mingyu didn’t think his boss really paid any attention to him, let alone thought he was attractive. He felt lightheaded.  _ Jeon Wonwoo _ had just said that about  _ him _ . What alternative universe was this? Was this a Christmas miracle?

“Thank you, sir. Um, I…okay?”

“Excellent. I will send an email to Seungcheol and confirm it Monday.”

Wonwoo smiled amiably and bowed. “Well, it is lovely to see you all here. Please enjoy tonight. I must be seeing to other duties.”

After that, the party became a bit of a blur. Mingyu had another glass of wine and followed Soonyoung’s instructions from earlier and chatted amongst the guests. He was trying his best to enjoy the night and the festive atmosphere, despite an uneasy feeling from talking to his boss and his own agreement to model some designer’s clothes.

Wonwoo thought he was a hard worker and  _ attractive _ . Wonwoo thought of him…at all…Mingyu was having a hard time processing it all.

Hungry, he wandered over to one of the buffet tables to the side and picked up a cupcake elegantly decorated in thick white icing with sprinkles that looked like gems. They had cost an obscene amount of money from some luxury bakery. But he had to admit upon examination, that the cupcake truly was a piece of art. And hopefully edible.

He took a massive bite.

“Mingyu!” Soonyoung called from across the room.

He turned, mouth full of the cupcake, and saw Soonyoung waving widely, his Santa hat crooked.

“ _ Mingyuuu _ !” Seokmin bellowed, loud enough surely the entire city block heard it. He was waving too. “Kim Mingyu!”

Seungkwan was jumping up and down. “’ Gyu get your ass over here! We  _ need _ you!”

He sighed. Clearly, they had been into the punch. A dangerous fruity mixture if Mingyu had ever smelled one. Or maybe more of the wine.

He finished off the cupcake and grabbed a flute of champagne from a passing waiter as he strode across the room. He was going to need it.

The party was in full swing now, and as he wove between party-guests consisting of other regular office employees, models, photographers, their managers and spouses. Apparently, their Christmas office party was really open to anyone who they did business with.

“What is it?” He asked, glancing between his co-workers excited flushed faces. Seungkwan, Seokmin and Soonyoung were all grinning too widely to be up to anything good. “What do you need me for so badly?”

“Do you believe in Santa?” Seokmin asked with wide eyes.

Seungkwan and Soonyoung erupted into laughter, slapping each other’s backs.

Mingyu frowned, suspicious. “What’s going on?”

Suddenly, the ringing of bells began from down the hall, growing louder as they neared.

“Ho ho ho,” a low baritone voice entered the room. It was from Santa. A skinny, sexy Santa in a silk red suit that was only halfway buttoned up revealing way more smooth skin than business appropriate. He had no white fluffy beard either but carried a big red sack behind his back. “Merry Christmas everyone!”

Mingyu stared wide-eyed. “Is that…is that  _ Mr. Jeon _ ?”

Soonyoung snorted, tears streaming down his face as he lifted his phone to take photos. “Yeah, it’s fucking Wonwoo! Can you believe he finally agreed to dress up this year?”

Mingyu’s brain was short-circuiting. This was  _ not _ happening.

Everyone was hooting and clapping in delight as their boss paraded around the room. Mr. Jeon was handing out wrapped presents from the bag and taking photos with everyone, throwing up peace signs and posing. It was very unlike the version of their boss Mingyu had seen during his time at the office, who seemed very much level headed and happy to work in the background and let others shine.

“Oh my god,” Seungkwan said softly, shaking his head. “Wonwoo is  _ so _ drunk.”

“Are you recording this?”

“You fucking know it.”

Mingyu couldn’t stop staring. It was probably impolite. He knew that their boss was objectively handsome. But this…. this was something else.

He downed his champagne.

“Santa!” Seokmin called. “Come sit! We need to let the people tell Santa what they want from Christmas!”

Wonwoo jogged over merrily, waving happily and spinning around as people took photos. It was quite a spectacle.

Finally, Wonwoo took a bow and lowered himself to a chair that had been dragged out of one of the offices.

“Okay, ‘Gyu, you’re up. Let’s do this.” Seungkwan said. “We’re rooting for you.”

“What?”

“Go!” Soonyoung pushed him forward and downwards until Mingyu fell. Into Wonwoo’s lap.

"Oh.”

Wonwoo grinned up at him. “Hi.”

Mingyu’s BB cream was not going to be enough. He had never really sat in anyone’s lap before, he always seemed too big. He didn’t feel that way now. Just horrified. His face burned, and surely his ears were turning an alarming red. He was  _ not _ drunk enough for this.

“So, what do you want for Christmas?” Wonwoo asked, low voice as silken as his stupid sexy Santa suit.  _ He _ clearly was drunk enough for this.

“Uh….”

“A '54 convertible, light blue!” Soonyoung said.

“The deed to a platinum mine!” Seokmin said.

"He wants a raise!” Seungkwan said.

Wonwoo wrapped an arm around Mingyu’s waist and grinned up at him. “Is that true Mingyu? Do you want a raise?

Mingyu was sweating. He was blushing. He wanted to run away and never come back to this fucking office again where his hero was flirting with him while Mingyu sat on his lap.

Soonyoung lowered his voice. “You know what’s going to be raising tonight-”

Mingyu raised a hand in his direction, desperate to stop what was about to come out of Soonyoung’s mouth next. “Oh my god, don’t be crass.” He chided, brought out of his frozen shock. He couldn’t believe Soonyoung would go  _ there _ . But then again…he could.

“Well?” Wonwoo prompted.

Mingyu’s flush deepened as he looked down at Wonwoo. His boss had a hand on Mingyu’s thigh and one at his waist, and under any other circumstances, it would be wildly inappropriate. But Wonwoo was Santa. Asking him what he wanted for Christmas.

“I uh, don’t know.” He admitted softly. “I'm just grateful to be here, sir.”

Seokmin snickered.

"Here as in with you!”

Seungkwan snorted.

“In this office! Working at your magazine. This company. It’s been a dream of mine,” Mingyu confessed. “I don’t really know what else to ask for, sir.”

Wonwoo smiled up at him, his dark eyes gleaming. “Mingyu, everyone else here in the company got a present. Everyone but you. You need to tell me what you want.”

“Everyone else?”

“Yes, Soonyoung arranged the gifts as always but told me I had to figure out what to give you myself. He’s a scheming little bastard sometimes, huh?” Wonwoo shook his head with a chuckle. “So, tell me, darling, what can I get you for Christmas this year?”

“I said figure it out yourself, cheater!” Soonyoung said. He had his phone out again and was taking more pictures. Mingyu was going to have to steal that by the end of the night and delete them all.

Wonwoo rolled his eyes. It was an impossibly lazy yet sexy gesture that made Mingyu grip his red silk shoulder for support. He could not handle Wonwoo this up close. This bare-chested. This...

“I know what I want to give you, Mingyu.” He lowered his voice so no one else could hear. His breath felt hot on Mingyu’s neck. “But I don’t know if you would like it. I hope you’d like it.”

Mingyu’s heart thudded in his chest. He was sure Wonwoo could hear it, could feel it. All of this was too much, and Seokmin, Seungkwan, and Soonyoung singing  _ Santa Tell Me _ a few feet away wasn’t helping.

“Why don’t…why don’t you give it to me, and I’ll decide whether or not I like it?”

“That sounds fair.”

Mingyu expected his boss to reach down and pull out a present from his red bag, like everyone else. But instead, he gently took Mingyu’s chin in his hand and guided their mouths together into a kiss.

It was far gentler than Mingyu would have expected out of someone like his boss, but then again, he had never actually thought he would ever kiss Jeon Wonwoo. Because that’s what was happening. He was kissing Jeon Wonwoo. Jeon Wonwoo was kissing  _ him _ .

“How was that?” Wonwoo asked, pulling away slightly. Still close, their noses touching, all of Wonwoo’s dark eyelashes close enough to count. It didn’t seem real. Any of it.

“Santa,” he whispered softly, “tell me if you’re really there. Because this can’t be real.”

Wonwoo grinned beneath his Santa’s heat. “I’m here.”

+

“Mr. Jeon wants to see you in his office,” Seungkwan said, knocking on the door of the breakroom.

Mingyu looked up from where he was stirring sweetener into his coffee, his heart dropping.  _ Fuck _ . He had spent the entirety of the weekend trying to relive the Christmas party as well as convince himself to let it go. Everyone had been drinking. It was all in good fun. It meant  _ nothing _ .

Seungkwan shifted uncomfortably by the door, looking sheepish for the first time in his damn life. “Look, I might owe you an apology. Took things a bit too far. We’ll delete the pictures. I’m sorry.”

He hadn’t been expecting that. He straightened his back and grabbed his coffee. “I know you guys didn’t mean any harm,” Mingyu said with a small smile. “You guys didn’t force anyone to do anything. Don’t feel bad. Shit happens. That’s life.”

Seungkwan nodded once, looking relieved at that response. “Still, uh, Wonwoo wants to talk to you. He requested you. In a professional capacity.”

“Couldn’t he have just sent me an email?”

“You would think, huh?”

They walked out of the breakroom together towards their boss’ office. They still had a few days of work before the holidays, but some people had taken leave early for family time or vacations. Which in Mingyu’s opinion was for the better, so they didn’t get to gossip about _the_ _kiss_ at the office until after New Year’s. Maybe by then, it will have blown over.

“Did Yuta and his wife like the weird present?” he asked.

Seungkwan grinned. “Yes! They got it. They thought it was amazing and hilarious. Apparently, they put it in their guest bathroom so every time you walk it, BAM!”

“That would be something…”

They stopped a few feet from their boss’ closed office door.

Mingyu sighed.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Seungkwan asked. “Do you want me to come in too for backup? He can’t fire you for something he did, right? Worse case, it’s just going to be awkward. Better get it over and done with before we close for the holidays.”

“Yeah, I know. I was going to go talk to him anyway. It’s the right thing to do. The mature thing.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

He knocked twice on the door.

“Come in!”

He took a deep breath, trying to find the nerve he was going to need to get through the next few minutes. He had already gone over a speech in his head to give. He could do this.

“Oh, hi Mingyu,” Wonwoo greeted him with a soft smile, putting a file into a cabinet on the side of the room. Looked like Lucifer himself in a stark white button-down with a black leather tie hanging down the centre. Simple. Elegant. Sexy. “Come on in and take a seat.”

Mingyu nodded, glancing around the office. He had only been in here once, during his first day of work where he had been given a brief formal welcome that had been the peak of Mingyu’s teenage fantasies. Three months ago, the idea of talking to Jeon Wonwoo seemed like something out of one of his daydreams. And now…

He sat at the edge of the chair, knees together, hands sweating in his lap.

“I bet you know why you’re here,” Wonwoo chuckled, shaking his head. He leaned against the edge of his desk, looking cool and casual. If Mingyu tried that he could surely lose his balance and fall.

“Yes, sir. I would like to apologize.” Mingyu began, voice far less confident than he would have hoped. But not shaking. He could do this. He had to do this.

Wonwoo furrowed his brow. “Apologize?”

Mingyu nodded vehemently, biting into his bottom lip. “Yes, sir. I would like to apologize for my behaviour at the Christmas party on Friday. I knew you were drunk, and I shouldn’t have let anything happen. It was reckless of me and very wrong. Terribly irresponsible. I hope you can forgive me. I promise to do better next time if you choose to continue my internship with your company. Sir.”

“Mingyu, I’m afraid you misunderstood what was going on here.”

He frowned, looking up at this boss. “What?”

“I asked you here so I could apologize to  _ you _ ,” Wonwoo said with a soft chuckle. “Look, yes I was moderately to extremely inebriated at the party. However, that gave me no excuse to behave as I did. I should have asked first, explicitly if you were okay with us kissing. I should have gotten consent before doing that, especially in front of everyone.”

“ _ Us kissing _ ?” Mingyu squeaked.

Wonwoo nodded. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable. And as your technical boss, I feel even worse. It would be ignorant of me to ignore the fact that I am older than you, your employer, and a quasi-celebrity in some circles. There is clearly a power imbalance that I took advantage of at the party, and I apologize. It was wrong, and I hope you don’t think less of me or the company because of my inexcusable blunder.”

Mingyu stared at his boss, wide-eyed. He hadn’t been expecting this. “I…don't know what to say. Apology accepted?” he smiled nervously. “But sir, I don’t think you can, uh, fully blame yourself. I uh…clearly was more than okay with it at the party.”

“Really?” Wonwoo lifted a brow, “And what about now?”

His damn cursed cheeks began to heat under his boss’ gaze. “Am I okay with it? Yes, I suppose...”

Wonwoo stared at him for a long moment. Mingyu felt laid bare under the intense gaze, insecure, wondering what Wonwoo saw when he looked at him.

He stood, gesturing for Mingyu to do the same. “Look, I know this isn’t very professional of me, but…” he took Mingyu’s hand in his own and looked at him from behind those stupidly chic round glasses. “I have to confess that I am sober now and the desire to kiss you remains as strong as ever. There’s just something about you, Kim Mingyu.”

“There is?”

“Yes,” Wonwoo chuckled. “So, can I? You don’t have to say-”

Mingyu answered by closing the distance between them and kissing him.

When they broke apart, both of them were smiling. It felt unreal. That this was happening.  _ Again _ .

“So, I’m not fired?”

Wonwoo snorted. “No, you’re not. But I suppose if we…. pursue things further you ought to find another position. Maybe you can take up modelling more seriously and we’ll just be your agency. If you want. It just wouldn’t be appropriate to continue this as you as an intern and me as the CEO.”

Mingyu had never thought that was a possibility. “Uh, that would…be nice.”

“I have to get to a meeting, but uh, keep up the good work. Don’t listen to whatever bullshit Soonyoung says about me, he is a liar and will say anything to tarnish my good character.”

“Didn’t you do that enough yourself? Kissing office interns at Christmas parties?”

Wonwoo grinned. “Yeah, okay, I got to go.” He grabbed his suit jacket from the back of his chair and a briefcase from atop his desk.

Mingyu headed for the door, still smiling. He ran his fingertips across his lips. He couldn’t believe this. Any of it.

"And Mingyu?”

He turned back. “Yes?”

“Meet me underneath the mistletoe at twelve and I’ll take you out to lunch. We can discuss things then. I want to hear all about your thoughts on the company and all your ideas Soonyoung is always talking about.”

Mingyu grinned. “Yes, sir.”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/wizardwonu)
> 
> i would also like to add when first talking about this fic the suggestions for presents were primarily "better friends" and "dick"


End file.
